Typhoon Bopha (Pablo) made landfall in the southern Philippines on 4 December, carrying winds of up to 160 kilometres an hour. More than 5.4 million people have been affected in seven provinces, according to Government estimates. On 9 December an earthquake of 5.6 magnitude struck Davo Oriental province in the Philippines, which was one of the most affected by the typhoon.

The situation in Syria continues to deteriorate, with heavy fighting south and northeast of Damascus following a major operation launched by the Government to prevent rebels from advancing on the capital.

An earthquake with magnitude 5.6 has hit South Khorasan province in Iran, killing at least eight people and injuring 12. As of 6 December, no further information on the impact is available. Typhoon Bopha has made landfall in the southern Philippines on 4 December, carrying winds of up to 160 kilometres an hour. More than 294,000 people have been affected in seven provinces, according to Government estimates. Severe rains have affected at least 6,500 people in Panama, prompting the Government of Panama to declare a state of emergency for the regions of La Chorrera, Capira and Colón.

Storm Bopha is heading toward southern Philippines as thousands of people are evacuating in high-risk areas. The storm is expected to intensify to a typhoon and will make landfall in Northern Mindanao late on Tuesday night. Severe rains have affected at least 6,500 people in Panama prompting the Government of Panama to declare a state of emergency for the regions of La Chorrera, Capira and Colón.

The situation in Syria continues to deteriorate, with heavy fighting in Damascus, Homs, Aleppo, Deir al-Zor, Deraa as well as Idlib and Hama provinces.

More than 140,000 have been displaced in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, after rebel group M23 gained control over the regional capital Goma and surrounding areas. Heavy fighting between rebels and the military continues to rage nationwide in Syria, primarily in Aleppo, Damascus and Deir al-Zor governorates. A recently published WFP assessment revealed that about 1.3 million people (25% of the total population) are considered food insecure in Kyrgyzstan, due to high food prices.

JOHANNESBURG, 21 November 2012 (IRIN) - Refugee crises appear to come and go. In 2011, all eyes were on the Dadaab refugee complex in northern Kenya as it received hundreds of thousands of Somalis fleeing famine and conflict. This year, attention has shifted to the refugee exodus from Syria, even though the majority of Somalis who arrived at Dadaab last year are still there.

Gaza has been under attack since Wednesday, when Israel launched a military offensive with the declared goal of deterring fighters in the Palestinian enclave from launching rockets into its territory. 84 Palestinians have reportedly been killed. Violence erupted in the eastern provinces of DRC, following a months-long calm, with the rebel group M23 advancing on the regional capital of Goma. Heavy fighting between rebels and the military continues to rage nationwide in Syria, primarily in Idlib, Deir al-Zor, Damascus and Aleppo governorates.

Both Guatemala and Myanmar were affected by earthquakes during the reporting period. On 7 November, an earthquake of 7.2 magnitude struck the pacific coast of Guatemala, affecting more than 600,000 people followed by a second quake of 6.2 magnitude on 11 November. There were no immediate reports of major infrastructural damage caused by the second earthquake. The 6.8 magnitude earthquake which struck in Myanmar on 10 November, meanwhile, damaged infrastructure but the full extent of the impact remains unclear.

Despite a four-day truce which was supposed to come into effect on Friday 26 October, fighting has continued to escalate in Damascus province, Aleppo, Idlib, Daara and Deir Ezzor in Syria manifested by a new wave of airstrikes by the Syrian forces and attacks by the rebels on strategic army checkpoints and air bases.

This week, renewed violence between Arakan Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims took place in Rahkin state in Myanmar, affecting an estimated 28,000 people. Sectarian violence between the two communities in June already left more than 75,000 people displaced. Despite a four-day truce that was supposed to come into effect on Friday 26 October, fighting has continued in Damascus province, Aleppo, Idlib, Daara and Deir Ezzor in Syria. The number of flood-affected people in Chad has risen to 700,000, up from 445,000 in September, with 16 of the country’s 22 regions affected.

This week, armed violence continued to escalate in Syria with heavy fighting occurring in Homs, Daraa, Deir Ezzor, Idlib, Latakia, Aleppo and Damascus. The Government has been accused of using cluster munitions in populated areas. There is an increasing risk of regional spill over, the most recent event being the assassination of a senior intelligence official leading to unrest in Lebanon. Recent reports indicate that more than 900,000 people have been affected by conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile state in Sudan.

The present report, submitted pursuant to the request contained in the statement by the President of the Security Council dated 22 November 2010 (S/PRST/2010/25), is my ninth report on the protection of civilians in armed conflict.

For the last 14 years, the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre has monitored intern- al displacement resulting from conflict and violence across the world. In 2011, the number of people internally displaced by these causes stood at 26.4 million.

The Working Group expresses its strong objection to the decision of the United Nations Secretariat not to grant a waiver to the 10,700 word limit to the present report, as has been the case for almost every year since such a limit was imposed by the General Assembly in 1993.

The CERF raised a record amount of US$465 million through the contributions of Member States, Observers, regional governments and the private sector. 2011 marks only the second time in the history of the Fund that it exceeded the $450 million target established for it by the General Assembly.

Additionally, $46.4 million was transferred from the CERF loan window to the grant window with the reduction of the loan element by the General Assembly.